1001 New Worshiping Communities News - March 2023

The title of this newsletter says it all. “New Church, New Way.” What, you may ask, is the secret to keeping things new, fresh and alive? Is there a recipe for success or is there just a faith in the sweetness of God’s love and in the constancy of God’s spirit in our midst through every age?

For the past 10 years, the PC(USA) has been deeply engaged in the research and design project of imagining and creating a new church in many, many new ways. In that time, hundreds of courageous individuals and almost every presbytery in the denomination have been doing work of constructive disruption — interjecting new ideas, new strategies, new people into our old ways of being church … of being Presbyterian. While to some, this may seem like little more than “poking the beehive,” it is, in fact, far more than childhood curiosity or middle school mischief. The disrupters among us are hopeful visionaries with a glimpse of what the church can be and is indeed becoming. They are helping us see the new thing God is doing in the world and the new people God is fashioning us to be. The stories you’ll read below are snapshots of how we are reformed and always reforming. At the end of this newsletter, you will find invitations to join us online for spiritual formation or at our “secret sauce” event in Atlanta, featuring new immigrant church leaders and a global barbecue feast. Both are opportunities for us to be transformed together and to become “pollinators of God’s love.” May we, too, be open to the God who can nourish us with honey from a rock and show us the sweetness God provides when we are willing to seek freedom and community, trusting God even through uncertainty. Thanks be to God for the moving and shaking all around us. (And for honey, for it makes a great barbecue sauce!)

Nikki Collins, Director Office of 1001 New Worshiping Communities

Come create something new with us

Join us for an event called “What’s the Secret Sauce?” on April 25–27 in Atlanta. We will celebrate the gifts and recipes for ministry of new immigrant churches. Registration is $100 and limited to 100 people. Global games and barbecue sweeten the deal.

Learn more and register

Deepen the disruption and transformation of the Spirit together

The Rev. Jeff Eddings, associate for Coaching and Spiritual Formation, is hosting a Lenten series open to leaders and supporters of 1001 (like you, our readers). The event, “Coffee and Contemplation: Reimagining the Examen” is a weekly gathering that uses the “Reimagine the Examen” app to center a time of spiritual reflection. Join us to connect around a spiritual practice with other 1001 leaders and 1001 supporters through Lent. Drop-ins welcome.   Future online gatherings and hybrid retreats will be posted on our Facebook page. Mondays at Noon Eastern (60 minutes) Feb 27–April 3 (Lent)

Join by Zoom

Stories of creative disruption rebuilding the PC(USA)

Here are just a few news stories of our partnering mid councils, leaders and communities that are showing courage in creating a new way to empower others to live out their faith at camp, in community and in Creation.

“Kin-dom camp” honors bravery of LGBTQIA+ youth

“Hey, you’ve got this.” The Rev. Pepa Paniagua sends a supportive message through camp programs to empower marginalized youth in pursuing their dreams.

Read More

Empowering new worshiping communities with a creative new church charter

The Presbytery of San Fernando charters Cultivate Church and ordains NWC leaders as ruling elders to give them a “voice and a vote.”

Read More

New worshiping community leader Chantilly Mers gathers sacred community around connecting to nature in the middle of Brooklyn

The Rev. Sara Hayden, associate for Apprenticeships and Residencies, interviews the Rev. Chantilly Mers, co-organizer of Common Ground NYC, on the “New Way” podcast.

Read More

Stay informed of more ways to connect with our work and to hear about future opportunities to gather with our team virtually or in person.

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Spreading the Vision of Matthew 25 across the Church

Accept the invitation to be a church of action, where God’s love, justice and mercy are contagious and at the center of everything we do.

Learn more

Presbyterian Mission Agency, 100 Witherspoon Street, Lousiville, KY

New Church New Way July 2020

My head is spinning with all that is happening in our world. I am longing for the Spirit of God to breathe peace over the chaos and order everything that is in disarray. This is not a desperate desire to go back to things as they were. We all know that’s not going to happen, and we don’t want it to. My hope is for a new order, a holy logic, that redeems the pain and suffering we are experiencing as people and planet. And I am without a doubt seeing glimpses of the world and the church that is growing from this moment and mess. This month’s newsletter indeed bears witness to a new church in a new way. Read on to hear about the newest communities funded by the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Catch a preview of our latest podcast season. Mark your calendars for our upcoming virtual events. See! God is doing a new thing right here, right now! Peace, Nikki

Join us for a Conversation with Father Greg Boyle The founder of Homeboy Industries, the Los Angeles social enterprise providing critical services and job training to former gang members, Father Greg Boyle will share wisdom and conversation with our community on Wednesday, July 29, at 8 p.m. EDT. This is a free event, but registration is required. Reserve your spot → New podcast season focuses on racial injustice, faith Season five of the "1001" "New Way" season poses tough questions like, "How do we, as people of faith, show up and organize in the relentless chaos of our time? And how do we interrogate privileges that benefit those of us who live in white skin and systematically disenfranchise those who don’t — especially those of us who are Black? Read story here. Listen to Season 5 →

‘Becoming Presbyterian‘ Nick Pickrell (second from right, organizer of The Open Table KC) has never set foot in a seminary. But after five years co-leading this new worshiping community in Kansas City, Missouri, he’s going through the process of becoming a commissioned ruling elder. Discover how he and other "1001" leaders are "Becoming Presbyterian" through the New Worshiping Communities movement. Watch now → ‘1001’ communities receive grants Eight new worshiping communities have received grants to fund ministries in Ghanaian and Hispanic communities, for caregivers, those fighting opioid and other addictions, for ostracized and marginalized groups — and an inclusive faith community an hour outside of the nation’s capital. Read more →

Upcoming online events In August, Michael Gehrling — and his all-star team of assessors — will host a Virtual Discerning Missional Leadership assessment event for potential leaders discerning their call to start new churches. And Sean Chow will pilot a Virtual Accelerator for leaders in the early stages of launching a new worshiping community. In October, the ‘1001’ team will host Refresh, a virtual retreat for all new worshiping community leaders. More information on this event and registration will be coming soon.

Matthew 25-Actively engaged in the world The Matthew 25 invitation was officially launched in April of 2019. Over a year later there are more than 530 churches, groups and mid councils that have made the commitment to become a Matthew 25 church and work towards building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism and eradicating systemic poverty. Explore our bold vision →

Support NWC’s The events of the past six months have been a jarring reminder of how much the world has changed. It’s been a wake-up call for the Church. We have had to catch up quickly, examine our vulnerabilities, reconsider our biases, embrace technology, and respond to the urgent needs around us. This world is not new for our New Worshiping Communities (NWC). They have been engaged with the realities of a diverse, vulnerable, unjust, virtual world since their beginning. One could say that NWC are the leading edge of our Church’s entry into the future. They are testing new approaches that will become the norms of tomorrow. We need more of them trying the ideas that will make all our churches better prepared for the world to come. To do that we need your financial help. We need to assess and develop more leaders, provide more coaches, offer more training and award more grants. For this we count on you - to give $1,000 or $100 or $25 or more a month. For more information, contact Jon Moore at jon.moore@pcusa.org or 502-612-5026. Give now →

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